Anyone here watch? I see the General Hospital thread pop up occasionally, and I believe there was a thread for Days, but I've never seen one for All My Children which is the only one that I watch.

I actually don't mind the Erica/Ryan storyline as much as I thought I would. The two of them have always seemed like good friends so that helps, but I do kind of wish that he didn't have a kid with her daughter. That makes things weird. Grandmother and Stepmom shouldn't be the same person. (not that Erica will ever be called a grandmother).

I remember Linc and Donna and Benny and so many more. Greg and Jenny. Cliff and Nina. Erica and Dimitri. Erica and Jackson.

Haley and Mateo. Stuart and Marian (now THERE was a pairing that evolved naturally and brought a smile to my face!) And I loved Adam with Krystal.

I really enjoyed Alexa Havins as Arabella Carey Chandler, and was upset when she was replaced in an ill-fated cast change.

She was polarizing, but never dull. She and her on screen lovematch, Jacob Young, just sizzled.

But for years, I think way too much of the show revolved around Ryan Lavery. Every woman wanted him. Most woman wanted him and fought each other to get his attentions. This character obviously has a fan base, so I mean no disrepect, but I often thought the portrayal became a one note chorus. Ryan expressed his emotion--usually anger or determination--the same way: eyes open very wide, and bugged-out.

I'm sure some people found that powerful. I found it borderline psychotic.

So, as more and more of my favorite characters left, and still Ryan Lavery remained, I grew frustrated. As Ryan continued to be an increasingly important part of every story, I finally dropped the show from my play list.

I thought I would have withdrawals, but surprisingly, I felt some relief. Gone was the frustration of seeing Ryan too much. Gone too was the irritation of watching favorites leave or simply sidelined.

Now I am glad I did. Ryan and ERICA?? Sorry. It's a stunt, and yet another jump the shark storyline.

I hope this isn't considered thread crapping, because I loved the show for years: it's just that now it is far from its once stellar self.

I loved Alexa as Babe also, and I loath Ryan Lavery completely, but after he's screwed up so many other women (Greenlee dead, Annie psychotic, Kendall...) I don't mind if he stays with Erica for a while. It's better than Annie/Adam which is just weird.

Did you at least see the funeral/death of Stuart? It was nice to see Marian.

I regret that, because I enjoy Marian. (Well, years back, I thought it was just creepy when Tad slept with Marian at the same time he was man-whoring around with her daughter Liza!)

And I really wished I could have seen David Canary's Adam deal with the loss of his good twin. Canary can really do a nuanced performance: despair, anger, irritation, humor, elation... His is NOT a one note performance. No bugged-out eyes for him, thank God!

I haven't seen, or at least paid attention to it in years, at least since all these "young" people came on. When I did watch it was the 90s, with Dimitri as a recluse with his strange housekeeper, and all the hilarity that ensued, and the Janet storyline, and Kelly Ripa with black hair as a rebellious teen.

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Series 2 234 Hr Lifetime.
Window XP and Ubuntu Linux on my PCs.
Watching more and more in HD direct now.

HD starting around February after the show moves to LA. The regulars have one week to decide of they want to move across the country. Hopefully we don't lose too many of the older actors and/or recurring ones.

And while it was nice to see Marian for a bit. It seemed odd for her to show up and shoot someone. (Especially since Josh & Di both did the same thing. At least Marian didn't die at the end.)

Well, once in LA, maybe they can add Alexa Havins back to the cast. That might get me back. Yummy.

If she'll even return.

At this point, soaps are not the viewer draw they once were. It's a shrinking audience. I know, all television viewing seems down, and each show has fewer eyeballs as more entertainment options proliferate: cable, internet, gaming.... Yet still, even in light of the overall TV viewer diminishment, soaps have been hit the hardest.

Think of the soaps that have gone dark, and pay attention to all the rumors about further cancellations.

Was that any worse than Bianca killing Michael Cambias? At this point, the killer really could be anyone in the entire town. Maybe it was Little A or Emma. (The child actors aren't likely to relocate).

It seems that I may have been right about the killer. Heh. I didn't really think they would make it Emma, but now that seems to be a real possibility.

Anway, the list is out on who is in & who is out when All My Children moves to LA.

Casting Spoilers:

Spoiler:

It seems we lose Joe Martin, Zach, Taylor, and Aiden, Colby is being recast again. Amanda will be moving since the actress already planned to move to LA, but she will drop to recurring when her contract is up. All of the recurring characters that are not regulars will be gone as well which includes all the child actors and Opal.

And there will be the return of:

Spoiler:

Rebecca Budig as Greenlee.

It really seems like this move is going to save the show. ABC recently announced that OLTL will not be going HD in February when AMC does so it really looks like OLTL may be gone sooner rather than later.

It seems that I may have been right about the killer. Heh. I didn't really think they would make it Emma, but now that seems to be a real possibility.

Anway, the list is out on who is in & who is out when All My Children moves to LA.

Casting Spoilers:

Spoiler:

It seems we lose Joe Martin, Zach, Taylor, and Aiden, Colby is being recast again. Amanda will be moving since the actress already planned to move to LA, but she will drop to recurring when her contract is up. All of the recurring characters that are not regulars will be gone as well which includes all the child actors and Opal.

And there will be the return of:

Spoiler:

Rebecca Budig as Greenlee.

It really seems like this move is going to save the show. ABC recently announced that OLTL will not be going HD in February when AMC does so it really looks like OLTL may be gone sooner rather than later.

Monday & Tuesday are the 40th anniversary episodes. So if anyone only watches occasionally, these may be good episodes to watch. According to soapcentral.com , there are lots of actors returning for these episodes. I'm not sure which characters are returning other than Hayley & Matteo. They arrived at the end of yesterday's show.

Also it's probably too late to let people know, but ABC is rerunning Stuart's funeral today in case anyone missed it and wants to see it.

Nyny: Sorry, I never saw your question until I dug this thread up today to remind everyone of the 40th. I got that from soapcentral.com. I usually visit there every few weeks to read headlines of what might be going on.

Edit: If you miss Stuart's funeral, ABC has the full episodes on their website now. It looks like they have the last 5 that aired including the rerun that ran on the 25th so they should have this rerun as well.

So, RB, how did the eps go with the brief addition of Kelly Ripa and her husband Mark?

I just could not be bothered to watch, because the last few years of AMC had been such torturous inane drivel to me, that it had demolished any loyalty and love I once had for the show. Too bad, too, because for me AMC was once one of ABC's crown jewels.

I'm surprised at myself a bit, because back when Kelly Ripa first left, I was sure I wold watch anything she was on. (I may have been right at the time--I watched Hope and Faith off and on for a while. )

Monday's episode was basically just a regular episode with Hayley & Matteo there. The reason they were there was because Pine Valley had been voted best town in America, and they were filming a documentary about how great it is. She sparred with Annie who declared that she was Hayley's new mom, and Erica a little after she found out about Erica & Ryan. Matteo mainly just stood in the background.

Tuesday's episode was the documentary. Lots of past cast members, but they didn't interact with anyone at all. They just talked to the camera as Hayley interviewed them (from offscreen usually, but we did see her interact with JR), and we saw clips of old footage. It's not a bad special if you can get over the fact that Pine Valley was named best town in America.

I haven't watched in a few years. I started watching when I was very little I would sit on my mom's lap while she was watching it. I stopped watching because they made the show mostly about the teenage cast and hell I was a teen then too but I wanted to see the real characters. I loved loved loved Adam & Liza (the real one) together.

Monday's episode was basically just a regular episode with Hayley & Matteo there. The reason they were there was because Pine Valley had been voted best town in America...

... It's not a bad special if you can get over the fact that Pine Valley was named best town in America.

Best town in America? Hell it has everything: It's a Pennsylvania town that has ocean beaches, deep water ports, an international airport, skyscrapers, a police force that can rival the Keystone Kops, and a world class medical center with an evil cardiologist capable to saving Maria Grey one season and do open heart surgery all the while saying snide and nasty things to Tad Martin.

Is he gone gone? I know Kendall has come back to Pine Valley, and Zack was there for week or so, but then he had business in Europe or something. Are they writing him off?

I'm tired of the blind Angie story line. Don't know why exactly, but I've never cared for Angie much.

I wish they'd do more with Jake and Amanda 0 and not just have Amanda as a sounding board for whacked out Tri-Chandler girl... just can't think of her name. I still adore the Greenlea, Ryan, Kendall triangle or I guess it's a quad now with the addition of Maddison.